The Eagan Wildcats boys swimming and diving team put on quite an effort at the section meet. In fact, the team took home the section 2AA championship thanks to a tremendous performance by the guys in all of the events. The biggest noise came from the 200 yard medley relay, where the team consisting of Parker Lemke, Max Griesgraber, Eli Broman and Sam Zenner finished in a record time. How? A big reason was their ability to keep calm under pressure. “Usually I am very relaxed when in the water”, said junior Zenner. “I was able to stay focused and just be relaxed and not let the pressure get to me and was able to do my best”.

With these strong performances by the swimmers and divers, Eagan saw many advance on to State. In addition to the 200 medley team, a few notable names were Jasper Appleton and divers Toby Heller, Alex Crow, and Nic Lemieux. This group was highlighted by Heller, who was crowned the section champion.

In State, the team continued to perform. Broman finished 11th in the 200 individual medley as well as 11th in the 100 fly. Zenner took 6th in the 50 free, earning All State honors. Lemke took 6th in the 200 freestyle, and 5th in the 100 back, also earning All State honors, and credited it to his calm demeanor, stating: “I try not to let the pressure get to me and I think I actually perform better in these high-pressure situations.” And put together, their 200 medley relay took 5th place. In addition, diver Toby Heller took 3rd, and was yet another All State competitor.

Overall, the entire team did very well, with an outstanding performance from both the swimmers and divers. In a season where many expected them to step up, they did just that, taking first in their section and 8th in state. With a team that will be returning many of their star players, expect to see these high results for years to come.